“Alexa please turn on the lights” or “Siri, can you play me reggaeton”. These are some of the common phrases used with voice assistants.
Diana Erazo lives in Quito and has been using Alexa for a year. She has it connected to certain objects in her house. “I tell him to turn the lights on or off, to play music for us and we even ask the time”, says Erazo, who has a 4-year-old daughter.
When he started using this voice assistant, he explained to his daughter that it is used for specific functions. “Alexa pays more attention to my daughter. She tells him: ‘Alexa can you play the song from (the) Frozen (movie)’ and another one comes out. And she says again: ‘Alexa that’s not it’, so I explain that she must be more specific and say I want the song from Disney’s Frozen ”, says Erazo, who supervises his daughter when she uses Alexa. She claims that he never leaves her alone.
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The use of virtual assistants is Alexa from Amazon, Siri from Apple or Bixby from Samsung is a great help, according to experts, but If the intention is for a minor to be distracted all day, there is an error.
This is what the clinical psychologist Susan Gonzálezwho mentions that the constant relationship of a child or adolescent with this type of technology brings consequences.
“You have to keep in mind that technology is here to stay and has shortened distances. Speaking of Alexa, Siri or another voice assistant, which can perform multiple functions within the home, from playing a video, to music, we must bear in mind that it is different for a child. He is introduced to technology from birth and even before. But, what happens when the child is constantly related to technology? When there is an excess of that, abuse is what has consequences. You have to see the function that technology fulfills in the boy, if the function is so that it does not bother, the boy will begin to interact more with an objectsomeone empty, someone dead because there is not something that is reciprocal as it is with a person”, explains the specialist.
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González emphasizes that it is beneficial to use these voice assistants, but if they are directed to prevent the child from crying or the adolescent from getting angry, it is not the right thing to do. “Let’s remember that with technology there is no exchange of glances, of voice, because the voice of Alexa or Siri is robotic, it does not have these nuances of a parent, teacher, friends”, he mentions.
For the clinical psychologist, the best option is to supervise and limit this use, accompanied by recreational activities. “What you have to aim for is to try to limit this abuse of technology. Technology is not bad, but it is necessary to limit the child or minor and give way to playful games that lead to imagination, fantasy…”, he says and adds that they can be activities such as playing soccer, with toys, using plasticine and not have him all day asking Alexa to watch videos or play video games.
“I have had 5-year-old patients where they have been immersed in technology, and when they find themselves in a space with toys, they don’t know what to do with it., there is no imagination. There is an impediment in relating to the other”, emphasizes González.
These types of situations are real, he assures Galo Cárdenas, professor of the master’s degree in cybersecurity at the SEK International University. “Voice assistants will always be a help for all people, help for children and all this about the internet of things and this means that we have security. In the case of children, it is important that they do not have access to pages that they should not and for that there is parental control ”, she points out.
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According to Cardenas, the Parental control is a mechanism that parents can use to limit access to different websites or filter the playback of songs that have explicit lyrics.
The teacher explains that in the voice assistants you can create several profiles, one for adults and one for children. With the latter there are filters that are also configured on which words or phrases are not allowed in the content search. “As soon as it recognizes the child’s voice, it goes into parental mode so that the child cannot access unwanted content,” he says.
This option is available to Karina, who uses Alexa at home. She lives with her husband and two children, a 6-year-old and a 1-year-old. This control focuses more on your older child and with this tool you cannot access violent content, be it videos or songs.
“We use Alexa to listen to music, ask her history questions, ask her to turn certain devices on or off. I have taught my son to ask for a favor and then say thank you. Plus she uses it to turn on the television, ask for movies, pause, go ahead, things like that, ”says Karina, who does not leave her son alone when she uses Alexa.
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González highlights this type of control and warns parents to be responsible in every way. “Sometimes parents don’t know how to deal with conflicts, they get anguished and the most practical way is to leave the child with that technology. So, if we prohibit him from using Alexa, we must enable other activities where the minor activates his body ”, he points out.
Cárdenas agrees with this and adds that hours of use can also be set. “There is no need to be afraid of technology, you have to see it as a learning tool and for this, parents must be guided and activate parental control. Remember that you have to set limits not so much on technology but on the teaching of the parents”, he indicates. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
